Wednesday, April 3, 2013

What We Learned From Opening Day

It's a new season and in major league baseball some things change and
others stay the same. Opening Day is a national holiday to baseball fans
around the country and in fantasy terms we saw a glimpse into the 2013
season that lies ahead. Here are some quick observations and notes from
the first full day of baseball.

CHC vs PIT
Jeff Samardzija is a talented arm, but the Pirates are still a swing and
miss club that have trouble with power pitchers. Carlos Marmol is a
nightmare and it is only a matter of time before Kyuji Fujikawa steals
the role from him at some point. A.J. Burnett is still a different
pitcher in the NL (10 K's today). Anthony Rizzo is a true slugger in the
making.

SD vs NYM
Colin Cowgill showed to be the scrappy lead off man with pop I have been
trumpeting as a deep sleeper for the last 6 weeks. David Wright seems
to be bringing back his base stealing which would be a huge boost to his
value. Ike Davis is a slow starter (Golden Sombrero today 4 K's). Jon
Niese is a maturing pitcher who can be a solid middle of the rotation
fantasy arm. The Padres have no pitching and nearly as little offense,
but Yonder Alonso's blast gives hope that he can improve on his power
numbers in 2013.

COL vs MIL
John Axford still can't close out games. Aramis Ramirez may be over the
hill, but is still an RBI machine. Jonathan LuCroy is an underrated
offensive catcher. Nice to see Cargo and Tulo hit a little on the road
for a change.

MIA vs WAS
Bryce Harper is everything you want him to be and the spotlight doesn't
scare him. He is becoming a "must watch" every at bat. His two solo
blasts were all Stephen Strasburg needed to shut down the Marlins, who
make the Padres look like the '27 Yankees.

BOS vs NYY
The Yankees are old, slow and are in real danger of falling behind in
the AL East. Jon Lester is still capable of being a front end fantasy
starter and tales of his demise were greatly exaggerated this off
season. Sabtahia will be fine, but he has certainly begun the downward
slope of his career.

STL vs ARZ
Ian Kennedy's down year just lowered his draft value and if you bought
low on him in your draft you may have gotten a steal. Gerardo Parra
deserves a longer look in the D'Backs outfield. Adam Wainwright still
has awful luck. It will straighten out in 2013 for him at some point.

SEA vs OAK
Felix Hernandez will continue to get little run support and there will
be many more weeks where he will give up 2 runs or less and lose.

PHI vs ATL
Chase Utley is not done yet and is showing why players in a contract
year are great to own. Freddie Freeman is the real threat in the Braves
offense despite all the Upton brother hype.

LAA vs CIN
Ernesto Frieri is the best option the Angels have on the ninth and
should be able to hold off Ryan Madson whenever he returns. Johnny Cueto
proved why you ignore spring stats for established pitches. Ryan
Ludwick is not long for left field and his injury is the first sign that
Billy Hamilton will be up sooner than later in Cincinnati.

DET vs MIN
Justin Verlander can dominate even with -24 degree wind chills. Aaron
Hicks welcome to the big leagues son (0-4 3K). Don't feel bad kid, it
gets a whole lot easier than facing Verlander in the AL Central. The
Tigers bullpen is definitely going to run by committee, but the smart
money is on Al Albequerque's heater eventually getting an extended look.

KC vs CWS
Chris Sale is dominant pitcher, but watching his delivery and frame it
is hard to imagine he will hold up for 200 innings in 2013. James
Shields is going to have a tough time finding victories in his new home.

SF vs LAD
Matt Cain will always have a hard time winning twenty games until the
Giants offense starts to show more pop. Clayton Kershaw is the best
pitcher in baseball right now and his shutout should be one of many this
year.